Robert Blennerhassett (c. 1622 – c. 1689) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

soldier. He was the son of Captain John Blennerhassett and Martha Lynn. He was probably born at the family estate at Ballycarty Castle,

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. The

Blennerhassett family The Blennerhassett family is an English and Anglo-Irish noble family which has been involved in the politics of the Britain and Ireland since the fourteenth century. The male line of the family is extinct in Britain. History The family is recorde ...

was originally from

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. Robert's grandfather Robert Blennerhassett (who accompanied his elderly father Thomas) settled in Kerry in the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

as part of the Munster Plantations. He was the brother of John Blennerhassett MP. Blennerhassett served as an officer in the

Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

army during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

, ensuring that his lands remained intact. He was granted a full pardon following the

Restoration of the Monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

. Blennerhassett served as

High Sheriff of Kerry High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in 1682.

Family

Blennerhassett married his second cousin (through Jenkin Conway) Avice Conway, the daughter and heiress of Edward Conway. In doing so he came into the possession of

Castle Conway Castle Conway is a former castle and stately home in the town of Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland. Today only the ruins of one wall remain. History Originally called Killorglin Castle, a defensive structure was first built on the site next to ...

Killorglin Killorglin () is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, the town's population was 2,163. Killorglin is on the Ring of Kerry tourist route, and annual events include the August Puck Fair festival, which starts with the crownin ...

, which would subsequently become the manor of the Blennerhassett's 7,000 acre Kerry estate. He had eleven children with Avice Conway. He was the grandfather of Conway Blennerhassett, the great-grandfather of William Spring and

Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 1st Baronet (1741 - 14 March 1821) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and baronet. Life Blennerhassett was the son of Robert Blennerhassett and Frances Yielding. He was the great-grandson of Robert Blennerhassett MP.Jo ...

and the great-great-grandfather of

Harman Blennerhassett Harman Blennerhassett (8 October 1764 – 2 February 1831) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, a member of the Society of United Irishmen who emigrated in advance of their rebellion in 1798 to become a socially and politically distinguished plantation o ...

.Blennerhassett family tree and information http://www.blennerhassettfamilytree.com/pages/BH07_Killorglin_K.pdf (Accessed 25 February 2013) His wife drowned at sea in 1683, and the last recording of Robert Blennerhassett is in 1689.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blennerhassett, Robert New Model Army personnel 17th-century Anglo-Irish people

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

1620s births 1680s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain People of the Irish Confederate Wars